When Not to Realize Your Car has No Brakes
I was having lunch with a good friend of mine today and we were swapping stories of things that have been happening recently - both at home and at work, just like we always do. My friend tells me a story that I must say had me in tears I was laughing so hard. Not that the situation was itself very funny, it wasn't. It was that his delivery was wonderful.
It goes like this: The time you don't want to realize you car has no breaks is when you're flying down the highway. By then, if you have no brakes, you're in a world of trouble. Best to check the breaks before you hit 65.
That's not what happened, it's just the lack of planning management did on this project he's involved in. They are in the final stages of testing and they haven't even really stopped to ask if they have the support system in place to maintain this additional system. So much energy has been put into finishing this, yet none has really been put into seeing if it can be supported long-term. Nothing like getting there and then realizing that you can't really use it because there's no one there to hold it up.
No brakes in the car.
While everyone can claim that they were heads-down getting to the finish line, my friend recalls several conversations (quite humorously) he's had with his boss about this, and other long-term maintenance points. All the while being told that things will work out, and we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, etc.
It's sad, but funny in a way. I think we help each other by letting off some steam, and I know he gave me a wonderful laugh with this tale of woe. I just hope it does work out for him, he's too nice a guy to get really hurt by such foolishness.